The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported an increase in "near-misses" at the country's airports between 2008 and 2012.
The FAA's formal term for a near-miss is a runway incursion, which it defines as "any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft."
"In FY 2012, 583 towered airports reported a total of 1,150 runway incursions, which is an increase from the 954 runway incursions in FY 2011," the FAA 2011-2012 Runway Safety Annual Report said.
On the surface, the increase in numbers seems to suggest an increase in the incidence of runway incursions, but that may not be the case. The shift could be related to a change in safety standards which are resulting in more reporting and therefore better data collection.
"The increase correlates to improvements in reporting systems and several years of safety culture enhancements that encourage FAA employees to actively participate in the Air Traffic Organisation's (ATO) Safety Management System. These programs are paying off, yielding nearly 10 times more data over the last three years than traditional reporting systems. With the increased reporting, we are able to identify and address safety risks more effectively and more consistently."
From the perspective of the FAA's 2012 report, the marked increase in reported runway incursions is actually a sign of enhanced safety measures. All the same, incursions are a clear sign of things going wrong; theyusually occur through controller error, pilot error, or vehicle driver error.
One industry news site, the Aviation Herald, tracks significant incidentsacross the globe. Dramatic video of a 2014runway incursion in Barcelonawent viral after it was posted to YouTube.
The FAA's UK counterpart, the Civil Aviation Authority, "has identified runway incursions and runway excursions as significant issues to UK aviation," through the analysis of UK and worldwide data. The problem is clearly a concern to the relevant authorities.
CAL's near-miss with Jetblue
Although related data from Caribbean operators were not immediately available, the US and UK data help to put into context a January 17 near-miss involving two commercial airliners in New York's John F Kennedy International Airport. The two planes–Caribbean Airlines BW526 and JetBlue B61295–almost crashed into each other around 10.30 pm.
It is unclear whether the pilots or the airlines will face any penalties after the recent runway incursion, which involved a Caribbean Airlines (CAL) Boeing 737-800 and a JetBlue Airbus A320-200. The two medium-range twinjet narrow-body airliners came close to possible collision as one was returning from Guyana's Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the other departing for Austin, Texas, according to a statement from the US Federal Aviation Authority.
The departing JetBlue Airbus 320 had received control tower clearance when it attempted to takeoff but returned to the gate after the mishap, JetBlue said in a statement. There were no serious injuries reported.
T&T Civil Aviation Authority officials were to meet with the FAA Air Traffic Control personnel in New York on January 20.
"Caribbean Airlines Limited is fully co-operating with the investigators. Both pilots involved in the alleged incident have been taken off flying duties pending the outcome of the investigation," said Civil Aviation Authority director-general, Ramesh Lutchmedial.
FAA report coming
Following any incursion, the FAA conducts an investigation to determine who is at fault and why the incursion happened. The FAA may pursue a re-examination or even license revocation against the pilot involved.
But in this case, the airline has said it is cooperating, and the incursion did not result in an accident, so the FAA may not pursue a civil penalty action or suspension. In such cases, the pilot could receive a warning and may only be required to complete corrective action.
Guyana connection
It is not CAL's first major incident involving its BW523. The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) investigated a July 30, 2011 aircraft touchdown incident at the Cheddi Jagan airport that caused irreparable damage to the Boeing 737�800 aircraft and injured several passengers. The final GCAA report, released in 2013, found that human error was largely responsible.
An October 24 release from the airline said, "CAL is committed to working with our flight crew to ensure they meet the required regulatory standards. The Captain of flight BW523 remains employed by CAL as a first officer. The First Officer of the flight left employment at CAL in 2012. All regulatory requirements vis-�-vis the crew were met following the event."